Improvement in projectiles



A. L. VARNEY. Projectile.

No. 217,756. "Patented July 22, 1879.

WITNESSES.

INVENTUR.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

ALMON L. VARNEY, OF WEST TROY, YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN PROJECTILES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 217,756, dated July 22,1879 application filed May 13, 1879.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALMON L. VARNEY, of West Troy, in the county ofAlbany and State of New York, have invented certain Improvements inProjectiles for Rifled Guns; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming a partof this specification.

My invention is confined to the sabot, or

that part of the projectile which, under the initial pressure ofdischarge, is supposed to be expanded into the grooves of the rifling,and to follow them to the muzzle, thus giving the desired rotation tothe projectile; and it is the object of my invention to provide a sabotof such design as shall properly fulfill its functions even undermoderate powder-pressures, cause little friction, lubricate the bore ateach discharge, and be cheaply and conveniently manufactured.

My invention consists of a sabot made of thin metallic disks or rings,put together in layers, and in such numbers as will produce a sabot ofsufficient thickness. These disks or rings are curved or bent atdifierent angles, so as to allow small spaces between the layers anarrangement which facilitates expansion,

and at the same time provides protected receptacles for a lubricant.

The construction is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich correspondin g letters represent corresponding parts.

Figure 2 represents a side elevation of the rear portion of a projectilewith one quarter of the sabot removed, so as to show a sectional View ofthe same. a

P is the body of the projectile. p is a projection or protruding neck atthe base having depressions -l' l, 860., into which are fitted corresponding interprojections on the interior circumferences of the ringsat d d, &c., for the purpose of preventing the independent rotation ofthese rings upon the projectile when the former are forced along therifling.

Fig. 1 represents a rear end view of the projectile, P being the body ofthe projectile, as before, p the protruding neck, and l l thedepressions to which the disks (1 d d, 8.20., in Fig. 2 are made toconform.

The interior circumferences of the disks, as Well as their outerperipheries, are in close contact, and, being of different curvature ordish, there will obtain small spaces between the disks, which may befilled with a suitable lubricant, and the whole sabot thus made up issecured to the projectile by an outer disk, D, having a curvatureconforming to the adjacent disk of the sabot, and a cup-shaped recess inthe center fitting over that part of the neck which projects beyond thesabot and crimped into the groove 0. It is probably only necessary tocrimp the disk D slightly in attaching the sabot, as the powder-pressurewill doubtless complete the process and force it to the bottom of thechannel 0, thus securing the sabot S as a whole firmly to theprojectile.

It may be of advantage to vary the thickness and number of the diskscomposing the sabot to suit projectiles of different calibers andweights, also the thickness of the outer disks for such projectiles tofacilitate forming and crimping.

The advantage of a sabot of thisconstruction over one of the sameexterior form, but solid, is obvious. In the latter case it would takean enormous powder-pressure to expand it into the rifling of the gun. itwould be but partially or imperfectly expanded, even under the maximumpressure of discharge, to remain unchanged from the point of the borewhere the maximum pressure occurs to the muzzle, whereas, .byconstructing the sabot in layers, it is expanded as it were in detail,and is not only efiective through a wider variation of initialpowder-pressure, but is kept distended throughout the passage of theprojectile in the bore. Furthermore, by providing small holes in thedirection of the arrow 70, the lubricant is expressed by the flatteningof the disks and thrown over the projectile in front of the sabot, thuslubricating the bore at each discharge.

I am aware that metallic disks with curved surfaces have been used totake the grooves the base of the projectile and secured thereto by anouter disk covering the entire base of the projectile and crimped into agroove around the neck thereof, substantially as and for the purposehereinbefore set forth.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

ALMON L. VARNEY. Witnesses HENRY WALTERS, T. I. HARDIN.

